Tuesday, February 14, 2012

I'm sure some people read yesterday's post about people power and offered a resounding yawn. That's fine, but for those who were intrigued, here's a real life example of how collective action by regular people can make a difference.As I mentioned, over 600,000 people have signed the petition that's the focus of the Just Label It! campaign, which demands labeling of foods with genetically modified organisms (GMOs). And you know what happened when 600,000 people took a couple minutes to participate in the process?The Center for Food Safety, which filed the petition to the FDA and is spearheading the campaign, reports that "Senator Barbara Boxer (CA) and Representative Peter DeFazio (OR) have authored a bicameral Congressional letter in support of our legal petition and will be urging their fellow Members on Capitol Hill to sign onto their letter."Click here to read the entire letter; it's really amazing to think what we've created. Here's the first paragraph:

"As Americans we pride ourselves on our freedoms. Some of these freedoms strike at the most personal level, such as the freedom to choose what we eat and feed our families. However, our free and open markets can only be strong when they are accountable and transparent. When Americans are not provided accurate and essential information about the products they purchase they do not have the freedom to make choices. That is why we urge you to join us in support of a recent legal petition filed on behalf of over 400 organizations and businesses to urge the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require clear labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods."

The next step? Emailing (and calling) our senators and representatives to urge them to sign on to the Boxer-DeFazio letter. The Center for Food Safety has simplified the process for us; click here to see how easy it is to make a difference.

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Rob Endelman is a chef who, in addition to teaching cooking technique, empowers people with the knowledge to make better choices when it comes to buying and preparing food.
Chef Rob believes that a lack of awareness about our industrial food supply has contributed to the increase in modern diseases such as obesity, cancers and food allergies.
Feel free to contact Chef Rob at robATthedelicioustruthblogDOTcom.